


Your Greatest Threat

by violasarecool



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Nonbinary Character, Sith Pureblood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 19:21:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17473508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violasarecool/pseuds/violasarecool
Summary: Kadaiz is an anomaly in zir family: the sole Force-insensitive amidst a number of prestigious Sith Purebloods. Family relations are strained at best; at worst, they actively threaten zir position in Intelligence.





	1. Chapter 1

"One other thing, agent."

Kadaiz paused, hand hovering over zir blinking comm, coordinates for the upcoming mission only partially input. Keeper's holo-image stared up at zir—was it zir imagination or did he look displeased? "Yes, sir."

"I hope Darth Jadus is not planning on interfering with this mission. His attention alone could scare off potential informants."

"Darth Jadus, Sir?"

Keeper gave zir a thoughtful look. "I see. That will be all, agent. Keeper out." He disappeared, though as the image flickered out, his mouth formed a tight line of annoyance.

_Dammit._

* * *

There were innumerable downsides to being a Force-insensitive pureblood in Imperial Intelligence. All eyes were on Kadaiz—both literally and metaphorically. Zir deep purple skin and fleshy protusions not only attracted suspicious looks from any other agents with a healthy sense of self-preservation; it also made undercover missions difficult to nigh-impossible, narrowing zir field of expertise considerably. Zie'd had to work twice as hard as any other agent just to keep zir footing among a group of (understandably) Sith-wary individuals.

So life as an Intelligence agent wasn't _easy._ Kadaiz had never expected it to be. But for all the downsides, Kadaiz had always assumed that, as someone with Sith family, zie would at the very least never have to guess at what the Sith were planning.

Clearly zie assumed too much.

"Where's mother?" Kadaiz demanded as soon as zir coded holo-frequency connected. The image flickering in front of zir was _decidedly_ not that of Darth Mephitus; instead, a small, slender figure lounged just within view, flipping their saber from hand to hand. 

"In a meeting, maybe," Rhûsk said, with an air of supreme unconcern. "Life of a Sith, you know? Oh, wait," they said, shooting Kadaiz a nasty grin, "you don't."

Kadaiz refrained from rolling zir eyes with difficulty. "Enough theatrics, Rhûsk. Why did I have to hear from my _handler_ that a member of the dark council is keeping an eye on me?"

They shrugged. "Not my concern."

"Don't be stupid. You can act as blasé as you like, but my knowledge reflects on the rest of the family and you know it." Kadaiz crossed zir arms. "Now let's try this again: _Where's mother?"_

Rhûsk's face took on a distinctly displeased look. "Better watch your tone; you're talking to a _Sith Lord._ "

Kadaiz wrinkled zir nose. "Already?" 

"That's right," they said smugly. "Lord Jhozûm was _quite_ impressed by my last assignment. The ceremony's tomorrow, though I expect you'll be too busy fetching trinkets for your _handler_ to attend."

"I expect I will," Kadaiz said. At 18, Rhûsk was hardly the _youngest_ Sith Lord ever, but it certainly didn't hurt the family's reputation of powerful Sith. That meant every child of the Nai-amtakk family was now a Sith Lord—all of them, that was, except for Kadaiz. Rhûsk gave Kadaiz a self-satisfied look, leaving Kadaiz in no doubt they were thinking the same thing.

Zie decided to tip the conversation in zir favour. "And how _is_ your _Master?"_

"She's not my master," Rhûsk snapped. "Not anymore."

"I thought the ceremony was tomorrow?" Kadaiz said idly.

"That's—a formality!" Rhûsk retorted, gaze furious. They paused, eyes narrowing, and their expression took on a sinister leer. "Besides. I won't be needing that _human_ now. Maybe she won't be here by tomorrow."

Murder the hand that feeds you? _Sith_. "I'll leave you to it, then. Just tell mother to call me when she's available, and I'll—"

There was a crackle from the holo; a moment later, Rhûsk disappeared as a tall, cloaked figure swept into the image. Kadaiz snapped to attention. "My Lord," she said tightly. She heard a snicker from Rhûsk in the background.

"Kadaiz," her mother replied icily. "Why are you contacting me at the Sanctum?"

"I heard—" Kadaiz's voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, cursing inwardly. "I've been informed Darth Jadus is... keeping an eye on me."

"So I've heard." Mephitus gave her a displeased look from under lashes that visibly glimmered even in the grainy holo image. Or perhaps that was her brow piercings. Kadaiz resisted the urge to touch the gold piercings lining her own face; ostentation was practically tradition among the Sith, and her mother was nothing if not _traditional._

When Mephitus didn't seem to be preparing to say anything else, Kadaiz dared add: "Do you know why?"

"Perhaps what you _should_ be asking is what you've done to warrant his attention. If you bring down the wrath of a dark councillor upon you, I will not protect you." The thin offshoots of flesh hanging from her chin quivered, her mouth a thin line of displeasure.

"Understood," Kadaiz murmured. _Translation: she doesn't know. But she thinks... it's something she won't like? Or that it will tarnish the family name, somehow—that_ would _be her first priority._

"Is that all?" Mephitus said; a disinterested dismissal, her eyes already straying to something out of Kadaiz's view..

"Yes, my Lord," Kadaiz said. The hologram disappeared without another word, leaving her alone in the darkened room.


	2. Chapter 2

"You've been here longer than I have; what does it mean when Darth Jadus calls you in?"

Watcher Two's holo-image gave a slight shrug. "I wouldn't know. It's never happened before."

"Ah," Kadaiz said. _Great._

It had only been a day since the first notice: one singular, action-packed day since a dark councillor had shown an _interest_ in Kadaiz's work. And now, standing on the cool, rainy surface of Dromund Kaas, zie was preparing to speak to him in person. _The only place less dangerous than a Sith's attention is a Sith's office,_ Kadaiz thought, as zie began packing zir equipment back onto zir speeder with zir free hand.

Watcher Two, still on the holo, made a thoughtful noise. "If it's anything like when you first arrived, maybe Darth Mephitus has been speaking to Keeper again."

"What?" Kadaiz stared at Watcher Two's flickering holo-image, her heart tripping out of rhythm. "What do you mean by that?"

"Forgive me, I shouldn't have said anything," Watcher Two said immediately. "It's not my place to speculate."

"What did you mean, _again?"_

Watcher Two seemed caught off guard. "You didn't know? Intelligence has been fighting Darth Mephitus for _years_ to get you in its ranks."

"Why would she fight to keep me _out_ of Intelligence?' Kadaiz wondered aloud. "She practically _threw_ me in here in the first place."

"I really couldn't say," Watcher Two said. "Anyway, Keeper had several calls with her near the end, I just thought..." She shook her head. "It's not exactly classified information. I assumed you knew."

 _Especially since she's my mother._ "I'm glad you won that fight."

"As am I," Watcher Two said, flashing her a brief smile. Then, she visibly shifted back to business, stance straightening. "When your meeting with Jadus is finished, head to the Nexus room cantina. I'll brief you there."

"Understood."

"Good luck, Cipher. Watcher Two out."

* * *

Kadaiz and Kaliyo walked through the vast halls of the Sith Sanctum, clumps of Sith watching their progress. Now and then Kadaiz caught murmurs, fragments of words that didn't make sense in context, though she could have sworn she heard her name. She glanced at Kaliyo, brushing off self-consciousness, only to watch in horror as Kaliyo winked at a pair of Sith staring at them. "Kaliyo..." Kadaiz murmured, a warning in her tone.

Kaliyo glanced at her absently. "What?" Kadaiz gave her a significant look— _those are Sith you're antagonizing_ _—_ but Kaliyo didn't seem to get the message. Her gaze drifted back around the room, a smirk fixed on her face. "They're afraid of you here, aren't they? You come, you go... you're the freaking secret police."

 _Afraid of_ _—_ _?_ Kadaiz gave a loud laugh, and now _she_ was the one attracting attention, many eyes turning toward the noise.

"What's so funny?" Kaliyo asked with a curious half-smile.

"Sith? Afraid of Imperial Intelligence?" 

"Uh, yeah," Kaliyo said, "look at their faces." She nodded at a group of Sith clustered a few feet away; Kadaiz glanced their way in time to catch hostile stares before they turned away.

"They don't like us. That's not the same as fear."

"Agent, let me tell you something: the difference between someone you hate and someone you're afraid of is the size of their gun. And Imperial Intelligence is packing some _serious_ heat."

Kadaiz frowned. "Maybe. But even mediocre Sith have access to a lot of power; they're capable of taking down agents with twice their experience. Believe me, I know."

"So what?" Kaliyo shrugged. "They're not gonna kill _all_ of you; they _need_ you. So maybe they posture a bit, show off their lightning hands," she said, miming with her fingers. Kadaiz supressed a smile. "They've gotta put on a big show, because if you're not busy being afraid of what they'll do to you right now, you'll remember what you can do to them _later._ "

They turned down into the narrower halls, the noise of the crowds dying away behind them. _I suppose Intelligence_ does _spend a lot of time keeping tabs on various Sith, but..._ Kadaiz frowned, thoughts turning to the resources they had at their disposal, the sheer number of force-insensitives versus Sith; the influence even someone like Keeper had over how the Sith were perceived by their peers. "They _are_ afraid of us, aren't they?" Kadaiz said slowly, turning zir head toward Kaliyo with a look of dawning recognition.

Kaliyo grinned. "Now you're getting it."

As they walked down the hall to Jadus's office, something else occurred to zir. "But that means—" Zie cut zirself off as Jadus's voice drifted down the hall toward them. _That means that mother's attempt at shunting me away to be forgotten outside of Sith society must have backfired horribly._ Their family was well-known, enough so that zie was sure anyone well-connected was keeping an eye on the newest generation—such as a force-insensitive climbing ranks in Intelligence.

 _And here I let you make me believe I was your greatest shame,_ Kadaiz thought, as Jadus's office came into view. _Instead, you've made me your greatest threat._

**Author's Note:**

> nb (nota bene but also nonbinary ayy ayyY): kadaiz's pronoun changes in this fic are kinda symbolic of zir relationship w zir mother; her pronouns snap to she as soon as her mother appears bc she still subconsciously feels like a little girl trying to please her demanding mother. but when zie realizes zir mother has less power over zir than zie thought, they flip back to zie.
> 
> just a lil tidbit for thought!


End file.
